Madonna Grehan

THE eNOS GENE: A CANDIDATE FOR THE PREECLAMPSIA SUSCEPTIBILITY LOCUS?

OBJECTIVE To investigate the endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene as a candidate for susceptibility to preeclampsia. METHODS Twenty-six Australian families containing 11 eclamptics, 59 severe preeclamptics, and 27 mild preeclamptics were used to test for linkage between the eNOS gene region and preeclampsia. Two microsatellite markers (D7S483 and D7S505) in the proximity of the eNOS gene were used. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Logarithm of odds (LOD) scores were used to examine the cosegregation of alleles with the disease under a variety of inheritance models. Model-independent analysis, affected pedigree member method (AFFPED), and pairwise haplotype sharing between affected sibs were also used. RESULTS Two-point LOD score analysis gave no evidence of linkage between preeclampsia and two markers in close proximity to the eNOS gene (LOD scores < 1) for any of the inheritance models investigated, with no evidence of heterogeneity between pedigrees. The AFFPED and the pairwise haplotype sharing test on affected sibs also gave no evidence of linkage (p-values > 0.05). CONCLUSION This study provides no evidence for linkage between two markers in close proximity to the eNOS gene and preeclampsia in these families. These results do not support the recent suggestion that eNOS could be a familial pregnancy-induced hypertension gene (Arngrimsson R, et al., Am J Hum Genet 1997;61:354-62). Distinguishing preeclampsia from other hypertensive disorders in pregnancy is difficult. Hypertension appears to be a consequence, rather than a primary cause of preeclampsia. Given the vasodilatory role of the eNOS gene product, it is possible that the linkage recently reported for eNOS reflects its relationship with hypertension rather than preeclampsia.

Association of the TNF2 Allele with Eclampsia

The genetic background predisposing pregnant women to the disorder pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (PE/E) is still unknown. There is compelling evidence to suspect involvement of the immune system in the development of PE/E. The aim of this current study was to investigate whether there is an association between the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α –307 polymorphism and PE or eclampsia. In this study, 51 cases of eclampsia, 122 cases of PE and 100 normotensive control cases were genotyped for the TNF-α –307 polymorphism. We found a significant difference between the TNF2 allele frequencies of eclamptic and normotensive controls (χ2 = 6.3 and p = 0.025), but not of pre-eclamptic and normotensive controls (χ2 = 0.5 and p = 1.0). We conclude from this study that the TNF2 allele contributes to the occurrence of eclampsia in our population.

Transnational Outrage: the death and commemoration of Edith Cavell, Katie Pickles

the director’s uneasy position within the feminist canon. Just as these investigations into women working in film open up new and subtle ways of making visible traces of historical presence, other research nuances the argument with work on women as audiences (Karina Aveyard) and the role of the UK women’s distributor, Cinema of Women (WOW) to, as Julia Knight argues, make women’s film more widely accessible through theatrical release. This collection is essential for anyone researching film history and feminist historiographies. It is edited by two of the leading scholars in the field, who are acutely aware of the lacunae within the existing histories of women’s participation in movie cultures across time. The collection offers a methodological cartography for researchers, not only in terms of how to conduct historical research into film, but also as an invaluable guide to how we might facilitate and promote future research into women’s participation in screen media— not only as actors but directors, producers, scriptwriters, designers, editors, critics, distributors, exhibitors and audiences. In her foreword, Sally Potter describes the purpose of the enterprise ahead as about transformation: ‘the transformation of difficulty into opportunity, the invisible into the visible, the silent into the heard’ (p. xi). As such, she identifies the central value of this edited collection to make ‘our history [become] visible and meaningful’ (p. xi).